Weekend Update

Now that I believe we have all seemed to get over the trauma that was changing the blog's domain name, we can resume "normal" life. 

This weekend was a restful one for Samuel and me.  We didn't go out of town.  We didn't have a million things to do.  We didn't set an alarm for Saturday morning.  We just had a weekend.  It was the best idea ever.

We enjoyed dinner Friday night for a friend's birthday, sleeping in on Saturday morning (until 9AM!!!!), lots of coffee, some shopping where this item:

magically turned into this item:

no, not the man.  Just some shorts for Sam.  And some new work clothes.  He decided the grill can wait--he will stick with his charcoal one for now. 

Then add in some time at the pool (husband was lame and stayed at apartment and played ncaa...but I had a GREAT time, even if it was all by myself), and a Saturday night game night with friends and good pizza. 

And then there is still Sunday...and this week it actually was a day of REST!  We lounged, I drug Sam to the grocery store.  We even got naps.  Sunday naps. 

All in all, it was a great weekend.  If only we could have had Monday off....

Promises Fulfilled!

So...way way back when I promised you I would work on changing our domain name (from the to-bebattershells) because we are now the Battershells and that just doesn't apply anymore! 

Well, you can all let you a big Halelujah because I FINALLY figured it out!  (I know it was bothering you as much as me to have a domain name not fully showing off my new last name!!).  I am a slow learner at this blogging thing...but slowly and surely I will get there.  Just have some patience with me!

SO, since you have found us you must now realize that we are
www.samandlaurenbattershell.blogspot.com
Horray!  Yes, I really am Lauren Battershell (so so cool)! and I will show it off as often and whenever I can!

In other news, It's FRIDAY! Samuel wants a new grill, so this weekend we are grill shopping.  I earned "wife points" when discussing grills last night because I was up for a grill with larger surface area since this grill will be used (eventually) for tailgating. 

This is how it went (for your amuesment)
Sam is in living room playing NCAA; I am lying on bed reading a book.  The TV is on mute.

Sam:  Hey babe I was looking a grills and there is one with double the surface area for only $40 more. What do you think?

Lauren: Well since you are wanting to use this grill for tailgating later I think the bigger one is a much better idea; and the price isn't really that different for such a bigger grill.  We will go on Saturday.

Sam: You are the best wife ever.  I might cry. 

Me:  Smiling.

This is the grill:  We can also get a stand for it when it's just set up at our place, but you can take it off the stand and it becomes portable.  How cool is that!?!?!

Enjoy your weekend with nice weather! (Before it's so hot all we can do is sit indoors!)

Love,

The Battershells

Living Quickly

Good afternoon friends =)

It's a suprisingly gorgeous day in Houston (the humidity is not quite 100%) and it's a perfect 74 degrees outside.  These days are rare, and in the coming months of dripping sweat I want to remember this one nice day. 

Life is moving quicky for us, very quickly!  Just a week ago we celebrated being married 3 months!  (That's 1/4 of a  year!!)  We have FINALLY gotten all documents changed (including the bank) and I am completely Lauren Battershell! 

Mom and Dad (Monica and Darryl) came down to visit the first weekend of spring break and we loved having them!  It was so good to see them and have them in our home.  It's very fun to host your own parents!  We enjoyed taking them to some of our favorite places, and touring them around my new lab. 
Sunday of their visit we went down to Galveston to have some great seafood!
It was a perfect getaway day trip!

We also formally joined First Baptist Church this month.  We have been blessed beyond measure to find a Bible teaching, Christ loving, active church that is near us.  We love our Bible study group of 8 newlywed couples and are really starting to make great friends.

 The church took our picture when we joined and I was really impressed!

That's a keeper picture for sure =)

My lab is completely back up and running in the new building.  It has some great new equipment and tons more capabilities for reasearch than our old building.  The move in total took 3 months!  Currently I am working on a two year project of protein purifiction that includes anion exchange.  It keeps me really busy and challenges me daily.  Our company is also processing a new reseach paper that I was a part of helping to create.  I will let you know when  you can google my name and find the paper! 

Samuel's work is also going well--he has been "out in the field" and making sales.  He enjoys getting to see his customers face to face.  AND he has found a new route home (it helps him beat some of that awful Houston traffic). 

I will leave you with this--the first picture Samuel and I ever took together..just because he is too cute.
Love,
The Battershells

Phases

I go though phases.  I like something (such as pb & j sandwhiches) for a while...and then one day it's over.  I don't like it anymore.  This happened this week with pb & j.  I have eaten one every day for lunch since we got married (only missing a few).  Some nights I would have one at 10pm after having one for lunch that day. 

But it's over.  We've broken up--pb & j and me.  Sam finds this frustrating...as soon as he gets ready to surprise me with something he has to worry I might not like it anymore (such as pbj).  It's not that I won't like pbj ever again--give me 3-4 months, and I might be back in a pbj phase. 

I run.  I am a runner.  I recenly finished the cowtown.  (See blog post here below). Now I am ready for something else.  I will run casually still...but no more 12 mile runs for me (for the moment.)  I'm onto something else...

Yoga

Yep, yoga.  My Mom has done yoga for a while now.  (She even has a cool mat.)  If we are being honest here, I used to think yoga was kind of "sissy".  I just didn't understand how you could get that good of a workout doing yoga...I mean, really. 

Wrong

I was wrong. Yes, very very wrong.  (Sorry Mom). Yoga is cool.  Yoga is hard.  Yoga makes my arms shake and all the other classmates laugh because the runner can't do yoga.  But I like it...and I'll go back.  While I can't do this quite yet:

I am hoping maybe yoga will be more than just a "phase."  Sam even wants to try a class with me! 

Run the Race

Last weekend Samuel and I went to Fort Worth for the Cowtown marathon!  We had a great weekend visiting my parents (we had not seen them since the wedding!!)

Thanks to Mom, Dad, Gran and Papa I had these new running shoes for the race: 

Samuel and I both got new running shoes for our birthdays from family.  What an awesome gift!  We took our gift cards and got them on Valentines day...maybe not romantic, but we were happy!  (and the only people in the store!)

The morning of the race Travis Avenue had a mini-worship service before start time.  What a great ministry and a way to see the church active in the running  community!

Then it was time to get started...and of course the nerves kick in...so Dad and I took a picture.  He's a pro.

Overall Cowtown was great!  I got  PR (woohoo)--with less training than last year's race!  It took me 30 minutes to find Mom and Sam after the race..not the best set up this year.  Cowtown should go back to the old course.  They should be reminded of the saying "If something isn't broken, don't fix it!" 

Here I am after the race finally able to smile and feel my legs again!

Yes, that barn behind me says "sheep"...not the best idea to have runners who are gasping for air run through the (very very stinky) stockyards. 

This weekend is a big one for us...we have bank day tomorrow!!  Changing bank accounts is about the last thing on our list of changing names/combining everything.  We will be the first people at the bank in the morning because we are so darn excited!!  Goodbye Bank of America, Hello Chase! 

Tonight we are going on a date!  (Thanks to a movie gift card from my aunt and uncle)...still not sure what we are seeing (we have not been to a movie since last summer).  True Grit, Black Swan, The Fighter and King's Speech are all in the running. 

We have a birthday dinner for a friend tomorrow night--we love learning more and more about Houston--there are tons of great places to eat!

Looking forward to a great weekend in our great city!  Enjoy your weekend!